Bruins disastrous offseason continues as they sit further apart with RFA goalie than the Leafs were with Samsonov
The Boston Bruins have had an absolutely disastrous summer in 2023, losing a number of key free agents, having their captain announce his retirement at just 38 years of age and, now, face a potentially problematic situation with RFA goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
We just saw the Toronto Maple Leafs go through the salary arbitration process with an RFA netminder of their own in Ilya Samsonov, resulting in a $3.55M arbitration award for the 26-year-old. Heading into the process, the Leafs and Samsonov were $2.5M apart, with the Leafs offering $2.4M, while Samsonov's request from the club was $4.9M.
Now, the Bruins come into the arbitration process even further apart with their RFA, Swayman. Per Elliotte Friedman, the Bruins have offered just $2M, while Swayman has his sights set on a $4.8M payday, $2.8M apart on a new deal.
Swayman and Samsonov actually had very similar seasons, with Samsonov suiting up in 42 games to Swayman's 37. Swayman posted a better GAA and SV% in his games, going 24-6-4, with a 2.27 GAA and a .920 SV% to Samsonov's 2.33/.919 SV%.
The Bruins do have $5.4M in cap space, but have to fit both Swayman and RFA forward Trent Frederic in with that remaining space, so if Swayman's award comes in higher than Samsonov's $3.55M, at something like $3.75M, it will give the Bruins just $1.65M to get Frederic locked in. Frederic is coming off of a 2-year bridge deal that paid him just $1.05M per season. After notching career highs in goals (17) and points (31), all while playing a very physical game, he's likely going to want a fairly substantial raise.
Taylor Hall, Dmitry Orlov and Tyler Bertuzzi all left the team this summer either via trade or free agency and with Patrice Bergeron retiring and David Krejci likely done in the NHL as well, the Bruins didn't exactly do well to replace them, dipping into the free agent market to sign Morgan Geekie, Milan Lucic, James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Shattenkirk. Now, with the expected deals for Swayman and Frederic, the Bruins may end up running out of cap space before they have the chance to make a truly impactful addition.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 28 | 385 ANSWERS Bruins disastrous offseason continues as they sit further apart with RFA goalie than the Leafs were with Samsonov Will the Bruins even qualify for the playoffs in 2023-24? | ||
| No, their time is over | 156 | 40.5 % |
| Yes, never count out the Bruins! | 229 | 59.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
